Force-Placed Insurer Offers 19% Rate Cut in Florida

Four months after Florida's insurance regulator rejected its prices as excessive, force-placed insurer QBE has offered to reduce its rates in the state by 19%. A portion of the cuts would come from reducing the commissions QBE pays to banks.

The move by QBE's Praetorian subsidiary comes amid broader controversy over how banks buy force-placed coverage, which is supposed to protect mortgage investors by insuring delinquent homeowners' properties against hazards.